A construction boss has avoided an immediate jail term after a worker was found dead on a building site in east London.
A man’s body was found by the Met Police at the site of a synagogue development on Upper Clapton Road, Hackney, in December 2018.
Although the worker had died of natural causes, inspections by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed multiple life-threatening failures at the site.
Moses Meisels, who was overseeing major structural work to enlarge the synagogue, was found to have repeatedly ignored warnings about dangerous practices – putting construction workers at serious risk of fatal falls.
During four visits over five months, inspectors found that workers had been operating on the roof beyond the protection of scaffolding barriers.
Large, unprotected holes in the ground floor had created fall risks into the basement below, while an unsecured ladder was the only way to access the first floor and did not extend far enough to provide a safe handhold.
Inspectors also found that construction waste had been dangerously stacked in the front garden.
Mr Meisels, of Gilda Crescent in Stoke Newington, received a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for one year, and was ordered to pay £10,000 in costs at City of London Magistrates Court over his role in the construction worker’s death.
HSE inspector David King said: “It is essential that clients must make suitable arrangements for managing a project, including the allocation of sufficient time and other resources.
“Clients should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action them if fail to ensure their construction projects meet the required standards.”
